Okay, so everyone's probably watching all of their precious box sets as we speak to try and make sense of what has just been announced by the show-runner; but all I have to do is watch a few videos on YouTube and already know that if this is indeed true, it's a great move by the Moff. And here's why...
- How Many Regenerations Have There Been?
1- First we have the first incarnation of the Doctor played by William Hartnell regenerate into Patrick Troughton in "The Tenth Planet".
2- We then have the second Doctor (Troughton) regenerate into Jon Pertwee in "The War Games".
3- Pertwee regenerates into Tom Baker in "Planet Of The Spiders".
4- Baker into Peter Davison in "Logopolis".
5- Davison into Colin Baker in "The Caves Of Androzani".
6- Baker into Sylvester McCoy in "The Trial Of A Time Lord".
7- McCoy into Paul McGann in 1996's "Doctor Who: TV Movie".
8- McGann into John Hurt's War Doctor in this year's Anniversary Special prequel, "The Night Of The Doctor".
9- Hurt into Christopher Eccleston in "The Day Of The Doctor".
10- Eccleston into David Tennant in "The Parting Of The Ways".
11- This is where it gets confusing for some but when the Doctor regenerates, every cell (broken or normal) in his body is mended and some aspects of his personality change almost like puberty. In the end of 2008's "The Stolen Earth" and most of "Journey's End", Tennant is regenerating but then transfers the energy to his severed hand which later on creates a whole Doctor with one heart instead of two, can't regenerate and stays with Rose. Now some will argue this doesn't count, but if this energy creates a whole Doctor along with cells, when the purpose of regenerating is to fix them, then I'm counting it.
12- Tennant into Matt Smith in "The End Of Time - Part 2"
So that makes twelve incarnations with some of the energy transferred to create a Human Doctor, which still leaves Smith as the 12th incarnation of the Time Lord, but the energy for another regeneration gone.
-The Conclusion Of 50 Years
So, technically speaking, Matt Smith is actually the 12th incarnation and also the "final" one which will make Capaldi the 13th... Since "The Deadly Assassin", fans have always had in mind the stated "12 Regenerations" rule that Steven Moffat also seems to be sticking to and obviously not ignoring in this special and the 50th which leads me to think that some how the slate will be wiped clean, and have another 13 regenerations with his death on Trenzalore actually being the death of the Doctor, not the eleventh which would explain why he jumped at the chance in Series 6 to avoid his death by being inside the Teselecta. Am I the only one who thought it was perfect that in the 51st year of the show, a new actor would be taking on the role almost like a fresh start, so what if that is the case? What if after 50 years of him running away from Gallifrey, he starts to chase it with a new purpose and objective?
-"No sir. All Thirteen!"
In "The Day Of The Doctor", when the epic showdown is proceeding with all the Doctors from Hartnell to Smith flying to save Gallifrey from the Time War, someone's eyes make an intense cameo at the mention of "thirteen". Now this supports my theory about Capaldi being thirteen, not Matt Smith like Moffat has said, but it also raises a few questions like "is Capaldi the last Doctor?". Surely, if all the incarnations were going to show up, then there would be a few more than just the 13 if we consider older Tom Baker being a future Doctor. But what if Smith is able to use the regeneration energy River Song gave him, but realises that it was just one she gave and all the those big effects were just for the Power of Love or something; and the Doctor will try to find Gallifrey for all of Capaldi's era for his people but also more selfish reasons like trying to get more regenerations as he's literally on his last legs.
Whatever happens, I'm sure the Moff will deliver something ambitious and probably terrifying. I don't think a Search for Gallifrey would take up the next 50 years unless it was hardly referenced most of the time, but I think it would be a marvellous arc with Capaldi's run so that when the 14th Doctor arrives, it will be a fresh set of regenerations and adventures for him. After loads more viewings of the Anniversary Special, I can safely say that the "Day Of the Doctor" is a brilliantly written, acted piece of Sci-Fi that honours the past and excites the future of Doctor Who. The only thing I was disappointed (nitpicking) about was a lack of the "This Is Gallifrey" soundtrack and any original music; but apart from that, it was fantastic!
List your thoughts, opinions about the topic, my article down below and I'll speak to you next time...